LEWIS WILLIAMS, PHD

Mauao
June 2010
Ngaroimata Cavill, Maria Ngatai, Brian Dickson and
Kihi Ngatai
with Lewis Williams, PhD

“Every iwi will have its’ maunga, its river, its’ mana, its’ people, its’ whenua. And that’s the whole
essence of who you are”. (Brian Dickson)
Introduction
Transfixed between Otanewainuku and Puwhenua, Mauao the esteemed Maunga stands guard
at the entrance to the Tauranga harbour. Facing into the winds of time, he is witness to the
Mauao. Source: Williams, L (2009).
changes that have come to his
peoples, like the tides ebbing and
flowing along his sides. He is the
guardian of history, the keeper of
stories, the provider and much
respected Tūpuna for iwi of the
Tauranga Moana - Ngāi Te Rangi,
Ngāti Ranginui and Ngāti Pukenga
– and those that have gone before
them. The standing and life force of
Mauao are the mana and the mauri
of the people; they are one and the same. His wellbeing is their wellbeing. He is the sacred
ancestor who links us to the past and to the future.
Mauao was forcibly acquired by the Crown in 1865 after the battles of Gate Pa and Te Ranga.
This was followed by a long period of alienation from the Maunga (mountain) for the iwi of the
Tauranaga Moana until Mauao was (in part) returned in 2008 1 . For Māori, an alienation of this
nature includes but goes well beyond a mere physical separation; rather it represents a deeper
alienation from an enduring world view, a way of being, and ultimately the ability for a fuller
experience of life, including one’s wairua and mana.
1 New Zealand Parliament - Mauao Historic Reserve Vesting Bill – Third Reading. Hansard and Journals. Hansard
(debates). Volume: 647: Page 15950, 2008.
2

Today, the iwi of the Tauranga moana are in process of recovering, re-visioning and re-claiming
their future. This includes a whole host of initiatives such as Te Reo, Matauranga Māori, Kapa
Haka and ongoing Treaty claims, one of which includes the full return of Mauao 2 . For local iwi,
the latter is a significant part of recovering, re-visioning and reclaiming the future; a future
which perhaps re-incorporates whakawhangangatanga - the dynamic act of caring for ‘all our
relations’, including our kin of the natural world – in the fuller sense once again. This report
gathers together the wisdoms of four Ngāi Te Rangi, elders as they share their perspectives on
the enduring relationship between Mauao and Ngāi Te Rangi, 3 . As one Kuia said ‘you cannot ask
who Ngāi Te Rangi, is, without asking who Mauao is’. With the return of Mauao comes the
opportunity to revision and reclaim a future building on the words offered here by our Ngāi Te
Rangi, elders.
How Mauao came to be: A brief history
The litērā l translation of Mauao is ‘caught by the dawn’. According to tradition 4 , a long time
ago Mauao was once just a ‘nameless hill’, servant to the chiefly maunga Otanewainuku, a
forested peak about 14 miles from Tauranga. This story is narrated by Turi Te Kani and Wiremu
Ohia as follows:
2 At the time of writing this report, Ngai Tukairangi, hapu of Ngāi Te Rangi, have lodged a claim for the return of
land at the base of Mauao. This includes the motor camp and public swimming baths still owned by the Tauranga
City Council (Personal communication with Dr Riri Ellis and Kuia Ngaroimata Cavill, 2010).
3 With the exception of Ngāi Te Rangi, Rangatira, Mr Kihi Ngatai, the elders interviewed were audio-recorded.
Verbatim notes were used to record the interviews with Mr Kihi Ngatai. While Kihi is seldom quoted directly
because of this, his interviews none-the-less provided much of the background information implicit in this report.
A description of the methodology may be found in appendix one.
4 Traditional stories of indigenous peoples are often summarily dismissed in modern times as myths or fables;
superstitious and quaint imaginings of primitive or pre-litērā te societies. That assumption could not be further
from the truth. Myth and legend in Māori cultural context, as with ancient seers and sages in other societies, were
used to capture and condense into easily understandable forms, their view of the World, of ultimate reality, and
the relationship between the creator, the universe and man. Marsden, M., 2003. The Woven Universe. Selected
Writings of Rev. Māori Marsden, 55-56. Te Ahukaramu Charles Royal (ed). Te Wananga-o-Raukawa, Masterton.
3

South west of Otanewainuku and the nameless one stood Puwhenua, a shapely mountain clothed in the
shades of the children of tane. The nameless one desired the beautiful Puwhenua, but her heart was
already won by Otanewainuku. In despair the nameless one decided to drown himself within Te Moana
Nui a Kiwa. The Patupaiarehe (faries) who possessed special powers and dwelt in the forests of Hautere,
went to the assistance of their friend so that his wish to be submerged at the bottom of Kiwa would be
fulfilled. As they pulled on the ropes which embraced the nameless one, he began to move, the
Patupaiarehe chanting:
E hika tu ake Arise you who slumber
Ki runga ra whiti ki taua Prepare yourselves
Hei Tama tu Prove our manhood
Ku mea ki te uru Heave to the West
Ku mea ki te tonga Pull to the South
Hiki nuku Move earth
Hiki rangi And heaven
I ara ra There it loosens
Ka ngarue, Ka ngarue It shudders
Toia ki te hau marangai Haul to the rainy quarter
Kia whakarongo taku kiri That my skin may feel
Te kikini a te rehutai The tang of the salt spray
O nga ngaru whatiwhati To the boisterous sprays (of the breaking waves)
E haruru mai nei Thundering on the shore
Wi wi wi Wi wi wi
Wa wa wa Wa wa wa
A ha ha A ha ha
A hora hia o mata Cast your eyes
Kia Meremere tuahiahi Heavenwards to Venus
Hei taki I te ara To light the path
Kia Tangaroa To Tangaroa
He atua Hao The insatiable God
I te tini ki te po Who lures the multitude to the great beyond
E kokoia, e ara ra Alas the dawn has come, the birds awaken
The Maunga’s journey from his place next to Otanewainuku down to the sea is intricately
linked to the formation of the other natural surrounds:
4

The Patupaiarehe hauled the nameless one to the sea by way of Te Waoku. In doing so, the valley
where the Waimapu river flows was created. As they hauled, the nameless one, panted and
sobbed ‘ka haere ka mapu, ka haere ka mapu’, hence the name applied to the river waimapu.
They continued to pull the nameless one right to the edge of the kiwa, along the channel of the
Tauranga Moana past Hairini, Maungatapu, Matapihi and Te Papa. Day break was near. The Sun
rose. The first rays lit up the summit of the nameless hill and fixed him to that place. Being
people of the night, the Patupaiarehe were unable to continue and fled back to the covers of
Hautere. Thus the Patupaiarehe named the maunga ‘Mauao’. In time Mauao was to assume
greater mana than his rival Otanewainuku.
Archaeologists can tell us that the history of Mauao dates back to around four million years
when the Maunga was formed as a result of a volcanic explosion. Around 65,000 years ago
volcanic ash deposits from Okataina, Taupo, Maroa and Tuhua helped to form the lower slopes
of Mauao. Evidence of occupation dates back to around 1280; a rich geneology of stories tells of
its successive occupations by Nga Marama, Waitaha and Ngāti Ranginui right up to the battle
of Kokowai when it was taken by Ngāi Te Rangi, 5 . During the time of its occupation by
Waitaha and Ngāti Ranginui, Mauao was the site of an immensely fortified pa with Waitaha
occupying its ocean-ward side and Ngāti Ranginui its harbour side.
Following the battle of Kokowai, the summit of Mauao was not inhabited again. A few Ngāi Te
Rangi, hapu settled around the Maunga`s base. Mauao was abandoned by Ngāi Te Rangi,
following the murder of a large number of their people there in 1820. It is said more than 400
people were killed with a further 260 taken prisoner 6 . Referring to these times, Brian Dickson
comments:
‚Mauao really is a wahi tapu for Māori. Battles have taken place there and the blood of our
ancestors has been spilt. Ngāi Te Rangi, engaged in a battle on Mauao (referring to the Battle of
Kokowai) and there were other battles that also took place around Mauao with other tribes…..
5 Mauao Historic Reserve Vesting Bill (2008). Hansard and Journals (Hansard Debates), Volume 647, 15950; Mauao
I, Waitangi Tribunal Casebook, Tauranga Moana Claims, 1997.
6 Ngāi Te Rangi, Rununga website. www.ngaitērā ngi.org.nz
5

That part of our history is something that we‘ll never forget and makes it a very sacred area. In the
first instance that’s what Mauao means to Ngāi Te Rangi.‛
Despite this, the NZ Government forcibly acquired ownership of the mountain under the New
Zealand Settlements Act in 1865 following the battles of Gate Pa and Te Ranga. A total of
290,000 acres in the Tauranga region was confiscated, including Mauao. A process of conversion
from customary tenure to individual title was imposed following confiscation which in
summary served to facilitate the purchase of Mauao blocks through forcing Māori owners to
pay for expensive surveys of the land. Many could not afford to pay for these expenses and
were therefore compelled to sell their interests to extinguish debt 7 .
Mauao remains intimately bound with the lives – past and present - of the many for whom he
has provided:
‚We have sustained ourselves from the kaimoana *sea food+ from the moana around Mauao. Some
of the taonga species we collect there; paua, crayfish, mussels, you know kuku green lipped mussel.
So over time it’s been the pataka kai [pantry or storehouse for food]. It provided the rocky reefs and
the environment for the shellfish to grow in….there also used to be prolific bird life there in the
past‛ (Brian Dickson).
The Maunga is the sacred keeper of the mauri of the iwi and the final resting place of esteemed
Rangatira and other important ancestors 8 . Testimony of this enduring relationship is also borne
by archaeological evidence of storage pits, whalebone clubs and shells found on his slopes.
Mauao is Wahi Tapu. As kuia Maria Ngatai states: ‚That’s wahi tapu up there. You’ve got the shells
to prove it. You climb up and what do you see? You see pipi shells all the way up left there by the people
*our ancestors+ who had pipis there as food‛. For the Tauranga Moana iwi:
7 For example the Waikorire block contained some 71 acres and was granted to 49 members of Ngai Tukairangi in
1881. In March 1887 the Crown secured ownership due to the failure of crops by flood in 1887. Unable to pay the
land tax, members of Ngai Tukairangi were forced to sell their land to the Crown. Minnhinnick, R. A Report on
Mauao – Mount Maunganui. Wai 540-A2Wai 215-A49. 1997. pp 93-96.
8 Stokes, E. (1992). Te Raupatu O Tauranga Moana: Vol 2, Documents relating to the tribal history, Confiscation and
and Reallocation of Tauranga Lands, 1992, 52, ROD, A18.
6

Te Waka
Mauao is a taonga which has immeasurable value, and which symbolizes the endurance, the
strength and the uniqueness of each iwi. For each of them, Mauao is a link between the
metaphysical and the physical worlds, and between the past and the present, and the future 9
I am Ngāi Te Rangi, (hapu Ngai Tukairangi) and whakapapa back through my mother, Shirley
Williams (nee Sellers), some twenty generations to the Mataatua waka (canoe). So I will speak
mainly from a Ngāi Te Rangi, and Ngai Tukairangi perspective. The Kuia and Koroua I
interviewed also all whakapapa back to the Mataatua and are also affiliated with the hapu Ngai
Tukairangi. However Ngāi Te Rangi, has long been linked through intermarriage, land, war
and through various alliances to Ngāti Ranginui , Tanui, and Te Awara whose waka also link to
Mauao. Therefore I also speak to these linkages (as do those interviewed) briefly from time to
time in this report. These enduring ties are well illustrated as follows.
It was Waitangi day 2009 and I had climbed Mauao at dawn along with many others to partake
in the service at the top of the Maunga. This service is traditionally participated in by all three
iwi, Pākehā (people of European Descent) and other cultural groups living in the area. A large
party of Rangitahi (young men) in traditional dress also made their way up. They had arrived
in a large waka (canoe) which the morning before they had paddled around the base of Mauao.
At the conclusion of the service I made my way back down the Mauao with Maria Ngatai in the
back of a ute along with two other kuia. I asked Maria whose waka it was. Her reply was as
follows: ‘It’s your waka Lewis! And it’s Ngāi Te Rangi’s waka, And it’s Nagti Ranginuis waka......it
everyone’s waka!’ She then turned to the other kuia sitting next to her and said `I always say that
you can’t separate Ngāi Te Rangi, and Ngāti Ranginui – it’s all one!’ Aunty Maria was referring of
course to the amount of intermarriage that has occurred between the two iwi. Many people in
the Tauranga moana whakapapa through both these two iwi, and to a lesser extent some to
Tainui through inter-marriage. The enduring nature of this historical alliance with Tanui is well
9 Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui , Ngāti Pukenga , Mauao Management Plan: Iwi Issues Report’, 1996, 1-3. In Mauao
I, Waitangi Tribunal Casebook, Tauranga Moana Claims, 1997.
7

illustrated in that both Ngāi Te Rangi, and Ngāti Ranginui went to fight alongside Tanui at the
time of the invasion of the Waikato by colonial forces under General Cameron in 1863. This
signalled the beginning of military intervention, war and rapautu (land confiscation) in
Tauranga the following year 10 .
According to Mr Brian Dickson, C.E.O, Ngāi Te Rangi:
Tainui
“The connection with Mauao starts with the waka......Well it starts for everyone with the
waka……..for example, Tākitimu and Tainui. Those landed here in Tauranga. The waka of
Mataatua passed by here and eventually landed in Whakatāne………So I think that‟s where it
starts for everybody. It‟s actually through your whakapapa where that connection that begins”.
Tainui under Hoturoa made landfall at Whangaparaoa before following the coast down to the
Bay of Plenty. The waka however, foundered on a sandbank on the ocean ward side of
Matakana. Oral tradition relates that Hoturoa sourced the cause of this mishap in an elderly
woman Wahinerua, and had her thrown overboard. Following her dismissal the waka was able
to move off the sandbar and continue its journey. Tainui oral tradition says that her body
floated away and came to rest on a rock, called Te Kuia, after this incident 11 12 .
Today the rock is regarded as a wahi tapu area. When people go on fishing trips it is customary
to feed something to Kuia rock, for the Kuia. This rock is also known as Tokatapu and
according to one account is the most sacred part of the alignment. The people of Tanui stayed
on Matakana for a few months, but because they found the area already occupied by many
people, decided to move on, before finally resting at Maketū, 13 .
10 On 21 st January 1864 some 600 troops under Colonel Carey landed at Te Papa. The stated objective of this
expedition was to create a `diversion` to prevent anymore Tauranga Māori joining their traditional allies, Tainui in
the land wars or sending supplies. However government motives were mixed and the situation rapidly
deteriorated. In mid April General Cameron moved his headquarters to Tauranga and more troops landed to swell
the numbers to 1,600. Under the Command of Cameron troops attacked Gate Pa on the 29 th April, 1864. In Stokes,
E. (1980). A History of the Tauranga County. Dumore Press, Palmerston North.
11 In Stokes, E. (1980). A History of the Tauranga County. Dunmore Press, Palmerston North; and
12 Other tradition as told by Mr Ngāi Te Rangi, Rangatira Kihi Ngatai has it that Te Kuia Rock is named after a Kuia
whose dog on seeing a wakataua (war canoe) out at sea, ran down Mauao and into the sea at the location. The
Kuia was said to run after her dog straight into the sea.
13 Mauao I, Waitangi Tribunal Casebook, Tauranga Moana Claims, 1997.
8

Tākitimu
The Tākitimu Waka, carrying the ancestors of present day Ngāti Ranginui arrived on the
Northern side of Mauao, landing on what is now known today as Tirikawa rock. The people of
Tākitimu soon after ascended the summit of Mauao under the guidance of the captain Tamatea
mai-tawhiti (later known as Tamatea-Ariki-Nui) and undertook the ancient ceremony of
implanting the mauri or the life force of their people in the mountain with the following
karakia 14
Brian adds:
Tihe mauriora May we breathe and live
Ti he uriruri May our descendants live on
Ti he nakonako May our hopes be fulfilled
Ka tu ka tau haha This hill stands here
Te papa e takoto nei This landfall we sought lies before us
Ka tu ka tau haha Here is our destination
Te rangi e tu nei The sky spreads above us
Ka tau ka tau
Te mataku mai I Rarotonga The heron flies northward to Rarotonga
Ko ia I rukuhia Let the rituals be performed
Manawapou roto Place the Manawapou, the red stone of
Ko ia I rukuhia Hawaiki on this side and that
Manawapou waho Toward the land and sea, so the ritual is performed
“[They put the] mauri of the captain, the rangatira, into the maunga…..some say that Tamatea
Ariki Nui is also buried up there. Basically that‟s where it‟s starts for everyone in Tauranga
moana. It‟s more than just an icon it‟s a spiritual connection that we all have to Mauao……..we
talk about it being the wairua, the spiritual connection, the metaphysical connection”.
The planting of the Mauri on Mauao is the chief reason why Māori look upon the Maunga with
veneration and resist every effort for commercial development 15 .
14 Mauao I, Waitangi Tribunal Casebook, Tauranga Moana Claims, 1997.
15 Mauao I, Waitangi Tribunal Casebook, Tauranga Moana Claims, 1997.
9

Entrance to the Whakatāne Harbour; landing place of the
Mataatua Waka under the command of Toroa. Source:
Williams, L. (2009).
Mataatua
The Mataatua did not land at Tauranga; accounts of its arrival and landfall vary 16 . However, the
salient points are as follows. It probably arrived on the shores of Aotearoa some time during the
14 th or 15 th centuries. Its arrival was part of a migration of waka over some 200 years from
Polynesia in response to pressures of increasing population there. During that time six other
fleet of waka, including the Takatimu, the Tainui and the Te Arawa, also made the voyage 17 .
The Mataatua made landfall first up in the North, probably at Whangaparaoa, then came down
to the Bay of Plenty coast, past Mauao, making its way to the mouth of the Whakatāne river
some 100 miles further along the coast. It was here that the important ceremony of implanting
the Mānuka tree into the ground; and therefore the mauri of the people was performed to mark
their arrival. The people of the Mataatua 18 settled in the Eastern Bay of Plenty among the people
of Te Tini o Toi who’d already inhabited the area for some time.
Signage on bank of Whakatāne river recounting the history
of the Mataatua’s arrival. Source: Williams, L. (2009).
16
In Stokes, E. (1980). A History of the Tauranga County. Dunmore Press, Palmerston North and Lyall, A.C. (1979).
Whakatohea of Opotiki. A.W. and A.H. Reed, Wellington.
17
The arrival dates of these waka as marked in various memorial stones at their landing places – such as the Arawa
at Maketū, and Mataatua at Whakatāne are commonly cited as the single arrival date of 1340. However this is
extremely unlikely and general consensus inclines towards the ‘great migration’ having occurred over some 200
years or so.
18
The final resting place of the Mataatua waka is the Takou river. According to Kihi Ngatai, Rangatira of Ngāi Te
Rangi, , soon after their arrival in the Whakatāne area, a dispute arose between Toroa, the captain of the Mataatua
10

Ngāi Te Rangi, have fought hard for their place as tangata whenua - litērā lly translated as
‘people of the land’ - of the Tauranga Moana. Historical accounts testify that Ngāi Te Rangi, was
embattled and semi-itinerant for probably around a hundred years as our ancestors moved
around various parts of the Eastern Bay of Plenty. Under the leadership of Rangihouhiri, Ngati
Rangihouhiri (as we were then known) emerged from its status as semi-slaves to some of the
Ngati Porou people and settled in the Matata area, back near Whakatāne. Brian Dickson recalls:
“Our Ancestors were at one time actually living in Opotiki. There was a battle that took place
there at a pa that they were staying at [which was]called Tawhitirahi Pa……..This battle forced
our ancestors to flee the pa and eventually take refuge at Whangara on the East Coast, where
they lived under the protection of the local chief…[Te Waho o te Rangi]…..
However, on nearing the end of his own life, Te Waho o te Rangi began to consider the fate of the Ngati
Rangihouhiri people whom had been living under his protection as surfs or semi-slaves since taking
refuge at Whangara. Not wanting anyone else to have the benefit of their labour, after his death, he
decided to have them all killed. The people of Ngati Rangihouhiri however learnt of his plan and took up
arms against Te Waho o te Rangi. This earned the respect of the Ngati Porou chief, who decided to let
them go on their way as free people 19 .
Brian Dickson continues:
It wasn‟t until they had re-gathered, grown in numbers and become strong enough to break those
shackles [that they] gradually started to treak home. There were stops on the way in Opotiki,
Whakatāne,……. Te Awa o Te Atua, which is Matata”.
Once there, the strained relationships with the Ngati Awa eventually led Ngati Rangihouhiri
into full scale battle with Te Arawa in its bid to secure the Maketū, peninsula to the North
which they occupied. These events – which I shall briefly return to later - were to prove decisive
for my ancestors and from this time on, we became known as Ngāi Te Rangi, and held the
whole of the Maketū, headland, to the south of Mauao.
and his brother Puhi. As a result Puhi with a band of adherents took the Mataatua and sailed to the far North; the
home of the Takou river. Puhi’s descents later became known as Nga Puhi. Kihi Ngatai, personal communication,
July 2009.
19 As told by Mr Kihi Ngatai, Rangatira, Ngāi Te Rangi.
11

These new beginnings were in part imbued with the prophecy of Ngāi Te Rangi’s progenitor,
Rangihouhiri who was to prophesize his own death. This occurred during the battle of
Poporohuamea at the climax of Ngati Rangihouhiris’ bid to secure the Maketū, peninsula. Here,
one of Rangihouhiri’s sons was killed. On bringing his body back to Matata, Rangihouhiri was
heard to utter:
“Haere e tama ite tai Awatea; Maku e whai atu ite tai Ahi Ahi”
“Go my son on the morning tide; I will follow on the evening tide”
The next day Rangihouhiri went into battle and was killed. And so it was that Rangihouhiri was
to prophecies his own death. After this time the Pa occupied by Ngati Rangihouhiri became
known as Whakapou Korero and the iwi of Ngāi Te Rangi, as we know it today was birthed.
War soon came again to the region in the mid 1700s when Ngāi Te Rangi, led a treacherous
counter revenge attack on Ngāti Ranginui who occupied Mauao to the North. This battle was
carefully planned in advance by Kotorerua, Rangihouhiri’s son, with the help of Putangimaru, a
Ngati Raukawa Tohunga from the Waikato. On a stormy night, Kotorerua and a 140 men
arrived outside the palisades of Mauao, announcing they had come bearing a gift for the Ngāti
Ranginui chief Kinonui; 100 baskets of kokowai (red ocre). As Kinonui entertained this party in
the wharenui (meeting house) on the summit, Taapuiti, father of Tukairangi, progenitor of Ngai
Tukairangi hapu (sub tribe) led the bulk of the Ngāi Te Rangi, war fleet up the coast north from
Maketū, to Mauao 20 . In what subsequently became known as the battle of Kokowai, they sacked
and burnt this strongly fortified pa, killing all its inhabitants and driving the remainder of the
Ngāti Ranginui and Waitaha inhabitants away. From this time on, Ngāi Te Rangi, secured its
presence and mana whenua over Mauao and throughout the region 21 .
20 Stokes, E. (1980). A History of the Tauranga County. Dunmore Press, Palmerston North.
21 I have been very brief in my historical account of these happenings. However so significant are these events to
Ngāi Te Rangi, that my people have twice undertaken tribal hikoi within the last twenty years retracing the
footsteps of our ancestors from the time of the Mataatua’s landing at Whakatāne up until the securing of Mauao
and mana whenua over the surrounding rohe following the battle of Kokowai. I believe this will continue to occur
not only because our history is an integral part of who we are, but also for the reason that with the acts of retracing
the footsteps of our Tūpuna , we re-remember the strength that is our inheritance; a strength which is
carried forth in fighting back for the full return of the Mauao and the other taonga.
12

“We fought everywhere. From the time we kicked out of Opotiki, we had to fight our way out from
the shackles of bondage: To eventually establish ourselves as a strong iwi, and you know we had
to fight battles on the way to prove that” [Brian Dickson].
European immigrants come to Tauranga
European immigrants started to enter the Tauranga region in the late 1820s. However Stokes
notes that they had begun to feel the impacts of European arrivals previous to this through the
musket warfare waged on them from tribes in the north; notably Nga Puhi. Around this time,
there were a number of threats to traditional Māori way of life. These include:
Traditional spirituality of Māori was under attack from missionaries and being replaced
with new Christian teachings which served to undermine traditional knowledge as well
as the mana of the tohunga and ariki;
Industrialization (for example flax mills at Maketū,) and the introduction of a cash
economy were undermining the Māori system of communal cooperation and well-being.
Māori frequently moved from kianga (villages) and pas to substandard housing
conditions to be near industrial sites;
The introduction of the Native Schools Act (1858, 1867) ensured that education was
under control of the colonial authorities, notably missionaries and served to undermine
tikanga Māori further; and
The wharenui at one of the two Ngai Tukairangi
marae, Hungahungatoroa, Matapihi is named in
honour of Taapuiti. Source: Williams, L. (2009).
The land confiscations of the 1860s
and successive Pākehā occupations
which served to undermine the Māori
economy, mana whenua (customary
authority exercised by an iwi or hapu
in a given area), matauranga Māori
(Māori knowledge) and hauora (well-
being) further.
13

Wharenui at Whareroa Marae, build 1873. Source:
Ngāi Te Rangi, Rununga website: www.ngaitērā
ngi.org.nz.
Being much coveted areas for
commercial and strategic military
operational purposes, the confiscation
of Mauao and its surrounds such as
Hopukiore (a small hill which lies just
to the east of the Maunga), and the
Tauranga Harbour, and their ensuing
implications for Ngāi Te Rangi, and other local iwi, illustrate the fairly typical erosion of the
latter three - mana whenua, matauranga Māori and hauora during these times. Colonial forces
used both Mauao and Hopukiore as bases from which to carry out strategic military operations
from around the 1840s onwards. Hopukiore 22 , the site of a wananga whakairo (tohunga carving
school) and also burial site for esteemed Tūpuna was used by troops under the command of
Ensign Best as a military base from 21 st December 1842 – March 1843. Hopukiore was renamed
Mt Drury in 1853 after a British lieutenant Byron Drury, whilst Mauao became the site for the
harbour pilot’s house overseeing the safe passage of cargo into the Tauranga harbour; all the
whilst various customary rights were being eroded.
These changes were not met without resistance. In 1878 local iwi blocked off the road across to
Mauao (then named Mt Maunganui). According to the Bay of Plenty Times:
“The chairman [of the town board] drew attention to the members to the present state of the road
across to Mt Maunganui, fence saying that the natives had made a fence across it with bolders of
rock and that it would be considerable time before it could be made passable”. 23
Taihao Hori Ngatai, a prominent Ngāi Te Rangi, Rangatira who had fought both at Gate Pa and
Te Ranga committed much of his time to maintaining his tribe’s ancestral rights. In 1885 at a
22 HopuKiore litērā lly means to catch rats. This hill was the site of a Tohunga carving school; the rat’s teeth were
used as blades in the carving chisels. According to Clive Ormiston West following information received from local
iwi, a small party of Pākehā climbed the hill in the early 1900s and found two burial caves full of skeletons,
greenstone drops, grinding stones, hooks, mats and some weapons. These materials, with the probable exception
of the skeletons were distributed amongst the parties, which included Captain Haultain of the N.S.S. Co and
removed from the site. In Clyde Ormiston West (1938) Memories of Mt Maunganui. Unpublished paper.
23 Town Board, Bay of Plenty Times, Volume VII, Issue 623, 5 th September 1878.
14

meeting with John Balance, minister of Native affairs, Ngatai expressed his concern about
fishing rights:
I look upon the land below high water mark as being part of my own garden……My mana over
these places has never been taken away……But now in consequence of the word of the Europeans
that all the land below high water mark belongs to the Queen, people have trampled upon our
ancient Māori customs. 24
Ngatai went on to tell Balance that Māori custom should be upheld; the Tauranga harbour had
been apportioned to various hapu and that Queen’s sovereignty should remain out in the deep
water beyond Tuhua (Mayor Island). Until his death in 1912 at the age of 80, over the years
Taiaho Hori Ngati and others put considerable effort into securing the future for local iwi. This
included the establishment of the Whareroa Marae in 1873 and first Māori school in the area (as
distinct from mission-led schools of Māori) around the same time.
Despite the considerable efforts of Taiaho Hori Ngatai and other Rangatira of the Tauranga
Moana iwi to promote understanding between Māori and Pākehā and maintain Māori rights,
some considerable alienation from Mauao for local iwi had occurred by the time the Korua and
Kuia of today first knew the Maunga.
Our Kuia and Koroua
Ngaroimata Cavill
Ngaroimata Cavill, the much respected Kuia of Ngāi Te Rangi, (hapu Ngai Tukairangi) grew up
on the Matapihi Peninsula, Bay of Plenty during the 1930s and ‘40s. She is directly descended
through her mother Kimi, and father Hipara from Taiaho Hori Ngatai, one of the two remaining
Ngai Tukairangi chiefs following the massacre of Ngāi Te Rangi, at Te Ranga, June 1864 25 .
Kimi’s father was Rewiti Ngatai, the eldest son of Taiaho Hori Ngatai, whilst Hipara was the
son of Enoka. Enoka was a younger son of Taiaho Hori Ngatai’s from his second wife and
Rewiti’s half brother. Ngaroimata remembers attending the Native School at Matapihi. She is
24 Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. On line: http://www.dnzb.govt.nz?DNZB/alt_essayBody.asp?essayID=1N8
25 Ngai Tukairangi Hapu (2000). Nga Whakaahua o Ngai Tukairangi. Waitangi Tribunal Hearing.
15

fluent in te reo largely because as she puts it, ‘her ears caught it at home’; at school she was
forbidden to speak it.
Her whanau lived on land which belonged to all seven of Taiaho`s children: ‚Now when I look
back and think about it I don‟t know who owned what. But it all seemed to belong to those seven people.
And we were just there looking after it I suppose”. Ngaroimata means ‘tear drop’; she understands
that she was named after an ancestor, but never learned of her true name until applying for her
birth certificate as an adult. The eldest of ten children, she was always called Kui (pronounced
qui) by the local elders as a term of endearment.
Her family lived almost completely off the land. Her dad had gone away in the First World War
and had come home sick; he never fully recovered. They lived off wild pork and seafood and
grew vegetables. Ngaroimata remembers having huge paddocks of potatoes and kumara and
working the gardens. She recalls:
“Yes we did [have to work], but I loved that part of it – collecting the cockles....... Coming down
here [near the Whareroa marae?] and sleeping out in the open on..........these springy little
bushes and we‟d throw a blanket on that and sleep on that......We survived on what we could
grow and catch”.
It was in these summer days that Ngaroimata remembers a lot of time being spent gathering
shellfish and fishing. She remembers the land and sea as being bountiful:
“And we never used to worry to buy things cause it was there. It was our cupboard.......We‟d
gather up sacks of them from here then we‟d take them back to Matapihi......we lived up on the
hill. And our parents would [go down to the water] and dig holes and bury all these things
[shellfish] to keep them alive. So all we did was go down when we needed some. We‟d go down
and dig a bit out”.
In 1947 Ngaroimata married and moved away to Mangakino, to the South. She was away for
many years eventually choosing to return to Matapihi sometime in the 1980s. As the Kuia of
Ngāi Te Rangi, today Ngaroimata is very much involved in various matters that concern the
iwi. Along with Kihi Ngatai, she is a member of the Mauao Trust, representing Ngāi Te Rangi,
As the Kuia of Ngāi Te Rangi, , her input and guidance is constantly sought by members of
Ngāi Te Rangi, iwi on a wide range of issues. Ngaroimata is also the Kuia of one of the two
16

Ngai Tukairangi marae, the Whareroa marae which she lives right next to. With all the
development that has sprung up around in the area, Mauao is not visible from her house, as he
would have been once. However, for Ngaroimata, Mauao has always been a part of who she
was and is: ‚It’s our Tūpuna. And he will be for as long as I`m alive`.
Maria Ngatai
Kuia Maria Ngatai, Ngāi Te Rangi, and Ngāti Ranginui grew up on her ancestral land during
the 1930s and ‘40s at Tu Puna, in the Northern Part of the Tauranga Moana. After a hiatus of
some 47 years, she has recently moved back to this land with her husband Kihi Ngatai,
Rangatira (chief) of Ngāi Te Rangi, , having spent most of their married life living and raising
their family on his ancestral lands at Matapihi. Today they and their whanau grow kiwi fruit at
Matapihi and Te Puna. Maria describes her whakapapa in the following way:
“Ko Maria Ngatai Ahau. I am more Ngāi Te Rangi, than I am Ngāti Ranginui . My grandmother
[Riapeti Tangitu nee Faulkner] was the eldest daughter of Te Kira Joseph Faulkner and the
eldest granddaughter of John-lees Faulkner and Ruawahine Puhi. And the reason I am saying I
feel I am Ngāi Te Rangi, is because my grandmother Riapeti married Potaua Tangitu and he was
of Ngatihaua, from the Waikato. He only lived here and become part of Tauranga moana because
of my grandmother Riapeti..........My mother Meremahi was the daughter of Riapeti Faulkner and
Potaua Tangitu. .........Everything that we have here belonged to Riapeti and I‟ve never forgotten
that. I do recognise my grandfather and my aunties who married into Waikato, into Tainui as
well that the close relationship is there. But as far as my grandmother is concerned, she is the
matua, the matriarch of my family as I see it”.
Maria has lived in the Tauranga Moana for all her life, having been a strong advocate for the
Tauranga moana iwi, in particular Ngāi Te Rangi, and Ngāti Ranginui and has been a great
friend to Māori and Pākehā alike. She has served on many trusts and boards, serving as a
Tauranga City Councillor in the 1980s. She has been a great allay to her husband, Kihi Ngatai in
advocating strongly for the return of Mauao to the Tauranga Moana iwi. They both witnessed
the historic passage of the Mauao Historic Reserve Vesting Bill in parliament during 2008 which
marked the beginning of the end of a long period of alienation of Mauao from his people. They
have a full view of Mauao from their house which lies along the coast line from Te Puna in a
south easterly direction. Most days they walk around the base of Mauao.
17

Brian Dickson
Brian Dickson, Ngāi Te Rangi, and Ngāti Ranginui grew up on the Matapihi Peninsula, the
ancestral lands of Ngai Tukairangi during the 1950s and ‘60s. He received his education in the
Tauranga moana attending Matapihi School and then Mount Manganui College. Brian describes
his whakapapa links to the Faulkner whanau:
“In terms of my dad‟s Ngāi Te Rangi, side: John-lees Faulkner married Ruawahine who was of
Ngai Tukairangi descent. And on my mother‟s side her grandmother was Te Rautau Faulkner and
Te Rautau was the grand daughter of John-lees Faulkner. So that‟s where we have whakapapa
through to John-lees Faulkner and Ruawahine. The marae on my mum‟s side is Ngati Hangarau
(Ngāti Ranginui ) where the Smith family come from. Yes, so that‟s me. I belong to both of the
Tauranga Moana iw”.
His father spent some time as working as a laborer in Whakatāne. Generally he remembers the
employment opportunities being quite limited for Māori at that time with most working on the
farms and railways. Life was not particularly easy during those days. One of his regrets is not
being able to korero in te reo Māori in school and how eventually the language was lost for
many. He recalls that in the end his parents and grandparents had to learn English to be able to
communicate with them which: “was sad really”. He recalls:
“We were learning mainstream, it was a process I suppose where we became a part of
government policies to assimilate Māori into the European way of doing things aye. ……Even the
subjects they taught for example wasn‟t about Māori history it was all about captain Cook. So we
didn‟t know any better at the time. But when we grew up we found out about the education we
hadn‟t received in terms of our Māori heritage and our Māori language and our Māori history, it
left……those who endured it quite bitter”.
Today Mr Brian Dickson is the Chief Executive Officer of the Ngāi Te Rangi, iwi office. He
oversees many of the iwi’s affairs on a day to day level and is a strong advocate for ensuring
Mauao’s full return to the Tauranga Moana iwi.
Growing up with Mauao: a way of life
These narratives of Mauao span some 80 years – from the time the Kuia and Koroua were
growing up in the 1930s, ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s to present day experiences of Mauao and its
surrounds. In many senses, Mauao cannot be separated from the surrounding whenua and
18

harbour as it adjoins and is intimately connected to both; therefore these narratives also
naturally include reflections on these aspects of local iwi`s relationship with Mauao, as these
experiences are in a sense `seamless’. Many changes have occurred in the area since the ‘30s at
which stage the hapu of Ngai Tukairangi owned approximately 300 acres near and surrounding
the Whareroa marae. All of this, but 12 acres immediately surrounding the whareroa marae
have been taken under the Public Works Act and incorporated into the neighbouring waterfront
and airport. This land was not taken without objection 26 .
Brian Dickson describes the section stretching along the Matapihi Peninsula, past the Whareroa
Marae to the Mount, (where the present day port of Tauranga is) as it would have been around
the 1930s and ‘40s:
“[There were] white sandy beaches along there…..Beaches, sand dunes. You could walk
down…It was a great place for gathering shell fish. It was shell fish that had real good quality
because it was at the mouth of a river and wet lands where the fresh water would go out into the
ocean, harbor in this case, which added that bit of sweetness to the pipi‟s and the tuangi‟s
(cockles)”.
Growing up on the Matapihi peninsula around this time, Kuia, Ngaroimata Cavill remembers
her growing up years at Matapihi fondly.
“I can remember as a young person we spent a lot of time [at Mauao]. We lived out at Matapihi.
And we used to come down during school holidays. I‟m only little at the time. And we‟d get on
our cart, and we‟d come down and we‟d stop here [at the Whareroa Marae]. There was nothing
else here it was all scrub all round, from here to Mauao. There was a plant plantation but
otherwise it was all Mānuka scrub. And we‟d go down to Mauao, and there‟s nobody there, no
shops, nothing. It was beautiful, white beaches”.
Growing up to the North of Mauao at Te Puna, Kuia Maria Ngatai reflects back on their school picnics:
“The school was where it is now. And I used to walk to school through the paddocks, bare feet.
So I used to go to school there. And we used to go to the Mount for our picnic every year. And
you know I‟ll never forget this but there were donkey‟s there that you could have a ride on, on the
beach. There was nothing [no development] there at that time, it was just a hill.......It [Mauao]
was [felt] really close when I was growing up, because we always went there”.
Mauao, and his surrounds, including a reef named Te Marie represented a whole way of life. The
elders described how on a seasonal basis they would go and camp there [Te Marie] catching fish,
26 Ngai Tukairangi Hapu (2000). Nga Whakaahua o Ngai Tukairangi. Waitangi Tribunal Hearing.
19

gathering shell fish which they would then dry out and store. In those days it was quite common
to make the journey to Mauao, pick karaka berries and boil them up and take them home and
store them. Brian Dickson recalls the use of this traditional knowledge: “There was a special way
of processing, preparing them. Our old people use to otherwise they would be too bitter,
poisonous even………There was a certain time you had to pick them otherwise they were no
good”.
Ngaroimata Cavill continues:
“And we‟d go right down there and sleep there for the entire holidays........Ow and I loved it. We
all loved it. Get up in the morning and go out and fish. Catch something for breakfast......Then
we‟d walk along to Mauao to the little shop that was there. One shop. Right at the base of where
the swimming pools are. Ow and we loved it........ And just play and swim and fish and actually
there‟s a little what they called um, Te Awa O Tukora, I think it was a bit of a creek. That‟s where
we camped. We spent a lot of time, walking around and picking shells and swimming in
between”.
For Maria Ngatai this special relationship with Mauao continued on into her courting days when
she met her husband Kihi. She would catch the ferry over regularly and they often used to walk
around the Mount. She recalls that her husband has ``always been a part of that mount`` as even
as a young boy, this was also where he`d do all his fishing and diving for mussels, kinas and
other seafood. She remembers that after they got married around 1950 and went to Matapihi to
live that most of Matapihi (local iwi who lived at Matapihi) „would live at the Mount‟(i.e., spent
a good deal of their time there). Maria comments:
“That‟s where they went to get all their seafood. They all went to dive for mussels and kinas and
Kihi was one. When I use to go down before we were married I used to go and sit on the rocks
and hold the bag and he‟d bring the kinas up and put them in the bag.....I used to hang onto the
bag. We did all that while we were courting. Not to mention the others that come from Matapihi
we„d all meet there”.
20

More change comes to Tauranga Moana: Enduring Difficult times
Up until the early 1900s European settlement throughout the Tauranga area was still quite limited.
Around this time development started to come more to the area; for example a railway was installed
from Tauranga across the water, down through the Matipihi peninsula cutting through several Ngai
Tukairangi Kianga. In spite of the land confiscations and forced acquisitions, surviving local iwi were
still able to continue with some traditional customs (to an extent), including those associated with
growing and harvesting various foods, hunting and fishing. However in the late 1940s more extensive
development was imposed on local iwi. A new and much more extensive port of Tauranga was built
View of port of Tauranga from Mauao.
Source, Williams, L. (2009).
View from Mauao of surrounding foreshore
development. Source: Williams, L. (2009).
along the Ngai Tukairangi shoreline.
While much celebrated by Tauranga at
large, Ngai Tukairangi was adversely
affected by port development,
particularly at Te Maire and Te Awa o
Tukorako.
They`ve all (the fishing grounds)
gone since the port was built…… There
was a rock there and it was known as
great fishing Te Maire - It was the name
of a rock that used to be there that use
to bring all the fish there. It was sort of a
rocky reef……..That‟s gone now; they
blew it up in the early forties to make way
for the wharf. Yes it did [cause a lot of
grief]. But it was taken all under the
Public Works Act. Māori didn‟t have
much of a say…….. The government
could take that land for economic
development.
By the 1950s quite extensive
development had come to the Mount (as
21

commonly referred to by mainstream
society) and in essence a whole way of life
had changed. Increasingly the Mount
became viewed as a desirable place to live
as well as being a popular holiday
destination for people out of the area and
abroad. A campground and swimming
baths were installed at the base of the
mount. Undoubtedly the port of Tauranga,
which can now accommodate passenger and cargo ocean liners hastened this development. The
1950 and ‘60s saw the influx of modernity including many more motorized vehicles. In
summary: ‚There were more people living at the mount, more houses, more shops‛ (Brian Dickson).
Reflecting on these changes Ngaroimata Cavill comments:
` “I always thought if it (Mauao) as something that belonged to us. And suddenly it was slowly
being taken away from us. I always thought of it as ours. Cause we were able to go there and go
fishing and diving for Kina and all that sort of thing......But then I grew up.......and this sort of
thing started happening and I thought ow what a shame...... I left in 1947. I don‟t think [it] had
started then. It was soon after that......I knew that they had done something [and] that we‟d lost
something for ever. To me we had lost a way of life”.
For Ngaroimata and many other local residents development in the area has obscured
the view of Mauao – something which has always been part of a continuing connection
with the Maunga:
“We are about the closest marae and we can‟t see it. That‟s really sad, really sad.......... It was
something I had and it was taken away from me....... That‟s how I feel about it........like I‟m saying
it‟s our tūpuna .........It‟s just a feeling one has when you grew up with him from a little child and
always looked up at it like being a part of one‟s life”.
Mauao: A Ngāi Te Rangi, view of wellbeing
“In relation to Mauao being whakapapa, it‟s actually another dimension that we‟re talking about
in terms of spirituality. That goes back to various atua [gods] and that‟s part of our makeup.
Whakawhanaungatanga and Kaitiangatanga are values of how we relate to the waters, the sea”
(Brian Dickson).
22

The elders share a number of perspectives about Mauao which to varying degrees speak of a
world view of deep interconnectedness; here wellbeing is the result of harmony and balance
between the human and non human worlds and the idea of caring for all our relations of the
natural world, including human beings. There narratives and other works consulted 27 speak to
four key concepts; each of which is connected to and facilitates the other in service of individual
and collective wellbeing: mana, tapu, mauri and whakawhanaungatanga (including
whanaunga). Each is briefly discussed as follows.
In various ways our elders speak of Mauao as whanaunga or kin. In talking of educating the
younger generations about Mauao, Kuia Maria Ngatai states ‚And that’s how we’ve got to work
with our young people. Just say, this is yours, this is your Tūpuna . Lets make it look beautiful‛ Whilst,
Ngaroimata Cavill in referring to the relationship between Ngāi Te Rangi, and Mauao says ‚He
whanaunga te ra [that’s our relative – kin – over there]. That’s between Ngāi Te Rangi, and Mauao‛. She
goes on to say:
‚But I feel like Mauao is a human being you know, I really do. And he’s there looking after
us….well that’s what a Tūpuna does, look after you. That’s what I believe anyway‛.
In various ways our elders also speak to Mauri the life force or energy that is immanent within
all creation. Mauri can be thought of as the energy which binds and animates all things in the
natural world, giving creation its unity in diversity. As such, mauri as life force is the energy
within creation which impels the cosmic process onwards toward fulfillment.
Mauri is directly present in the stories of Ngāi Te Rangi, and Ngāti Ranginui with the arrival of
both waka and the implanting of the mauri of both people’s via the Mānuka tree at Whakatāne
and in direct relation to Mauao through Ngāti Ranginui with the implanting of the Mauri of the
voyage upon the arrival of the Takatimu waka. Brian Dickson adds that that it is because of the
27 Marsden, Māori. (2003). The Woven Universe. The Selected Writings of Rev. Māori Marsden. Te Wananga-o-
Raukawa: Otaki. Royal, Te Ahukaramu Charles. Te Ao Marama – the natural world – mana, tapu and mauri. In Te
Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Accessed on line at http;//www.tērā .govt.nz/en/te-ao-marama-the-naturalworld/5
23

‚mauri and spirituality along with all the other reasons that Mauao is designated sacred or wahi tapu‛.
Ngaroimata Cavill speaks of Mauao as being ‘alive’, whilst in speaking about the need for
Council to return the Maunga fully to local iwi, Maria Ngatai talks about the growth as
occurring from the bottom: ‚What they’ve given is just the top……..but it *Mauao+ grows from the
bottom. The growth is at the bottom not the top‛. Rather than casting Mauao as an inanimate object,
these narratives speak to Mauao as a living being, deeply connected to local iwi, not only
through the historic implanting of the Mauri of the new arrivals, but to the mauri that both
imbues the Maunga and his people, knitting them as one.
Generally defined as the sacred, Tapu, or Mauao, as Wahi tapu, (sacred site), has already been
spoken about by the elders at some considerable length. In effect, the lore of tapu removes a
person, place or thing from ordinary secular association or use. Reason’s for Mauao being wahi
tapu have include the maunga holding the mauri of the Tūpuna (ancestors), being the burial
ground for high born chiefs, a historic pa site for various iwi as well as a place where many
have died in battle. For the local iwi however, the challenges to the Maunga’s tapu remain.
Recollecting one such challenge, Maria Ngatai recalls:
‚They’ve always wanted to put a big lift or cable car up there …..and a restaurant. Māori
activists have had to fight for it *Mauao+. But we had some good visionaries and they didn’t
allow that to happen. And they won it…..you can’t *put those up there+ because it wahi tapu‛.
Tapu is also closely related to the flow of mana. Mana is an extraordinary essence or presence
which applies to the energies and presences of the natural world. Mana is the spiritual authority
and power bestowed upon a person, as opposed to the purely psychic and natural force of ihi. It
litērā lly means that which manifests the power of the gods and therefore, does not so much
come from a person, but flows through them. Mana is a concomitant of tapu. Any person, place
or thing invested with divine mana is set aside for a specific purpose; certain restrictions,
disciplines and commitments (elements of tapu) have to be observed if mana is to be expressed
in physical form, such as in a person or object. For example, mountains that were and are
24

important to particular tribal groups are often tapu, with the activities on these maunga
(ideally) restricted.
As wahi tapu, the use of Mauao for the everyday, secular (profane) activities actually
undermines the mana of the maunga – and by extension, the mana of the iwi of the Tauranga
moana. Whilst the iwi of the Tauranga moana - more latterly Ngāi Te Rangi, - have also at
various times had ‚the mana, the the rangatiratanga and the Kaitiakitangi over Mauao‛ the blatant
disregard of the Mauga’s tapu undermines local iwi not only because this inhibits the
expression of the fore-mentioned qualities of tapu, mana, mauri and whaka whanaungatanga,
but also because Mauao is in part the essence of who they are. As was noted by Te Ururoa
Flavell on the historic day when Mauao was put back into the trusteeship of Tauranga Moana
iwi elders ‚The standing (mana) and mauri (life force) of mauao were never ceded willingly by
iwi to the crown‛ 28 .
This Ngāi Te Rangi, worldview of deep interconnectedness is expressed time and time again by
our Kuia and Koroua. For Ngaroimata Cavill, there is a real sense of well being when she gets
the opportunity to be in physical proximity to Mauao: ‚I feel so good when I am up there, because he
is a part of me and I am a part of him‛. She later adds ‚I feel like its *Mauao+ the sacred part of my life.
And anything happens to it, happens to me‛. Mr Brian Dickson perhaps expresses the sentiments of
many:
‚A lot of people today say Mauao is important to us. I grew up there, I see it every morning. Well
ours is more special than that. We lived there, we fought there……..for Māori its more than just a
significant landmark. Its how Mauao has shaped our lives. How we have connected to it in the
past, and it’s a long period of connection‛.
The well-being of local iwi is connected to the well-being of Mauao. For Ngaroimata Cavill:
‚They feel he makes them feel good. They look at him and believe he is the one that keeps them well. They
look at him and he is a type of guardian‛. Maria Ngatai also agrees with this connection between
28 New Zealand Parliament - Mauao Historic Reserve Vesting Bill – Third Reading. Hansard and Journals. Hansard
(debates). Volume: 647: Page 15950, 2008.
25

Mauao and health. She also reminds us, however, that there are some parts of Mauao that are
not healthy:
‚At the moment when you go over there, there are some parts of Mauao that are not healthy. And
you can see them. You come round to the bottom to where the pools and the camping ground
are…and that’s not right. That’s the way to make Mauao healthy, to clean up and get all the trees
growing from there; make sure its [Mauao] got enough feed there like all the soil right there at the
bottom so that it can grow‛.
The iwi of the Tauranga moana are still waiting for the full return of their Maunga:
“What they‟ve [the Crown and local government] given is just the top........ They haven‟t given all
the base, they‟ve only given part of it. And for me that‟s not right. They‟ve got to give the whole
bit. And I‟ll tell you the whole bit is that whole bit. When we used to have the picnics there and
that land was there and the donkey rides and all that there we used to go from the tusick right
down to the beach, it was all that”.
In summary, the health of Mauao and the well-being of the iwi of the Tauranga moana are
linked through the active exercise of whaka-whanaungatanga (the act of relating to and caring
for one’s kin). When this is fully allowed and supported by the Crown, tapu is able to be
observed correctly, the mauri of the maunga is nurtured, and mana through a mauri (that is
strong and vibrant) is able to flow freely. Perhaps it is only the full and proper return of Mauao
and his surrounds that will enable this fuller restoration of mauri and mana to the Maunga and
the iwi of the Tauranga moana.
Looking to the future
“Well I think what‟s been given back so far is a beginning. We probably won‟t rest till we get the
whole of Mauao back. And the parts that we‟ve got back are the historic reserves and the parts
that we don‟t have back are the recreation reserves. Coincidently is where a lot of commercial
business is going on, is reaping a revenue for the council‟ (Brian Dickson).
The iwi of the Tauranga moana hold many dreams for their maunga and some are currently
working actively towards his full and proper return. For many the vision is for local iwi to be
the leader or manager of Mauao. For Brian Dickson this means: ‚Not being a co manager alongside
the Tauranga city council. But to eventually have the leading role and managing the day to day and long
term operations of Mauao‛.
26

For Maria Ngatai the future lies in education along with practical action:
“A lot of people all know [how wahi tapu it is]. A lot of people won‟t know but they can be told
and if there told without no big deal they can understand that. You can say „well it‟s just like your
cemeteries‟. And you‟re used to that, it‟s the same sort of thing. So you know something easy not
something hard where they‟ll take a while to grasp it all. And I usually say to my grandchildren
this is how it is, or this is how it was. And they know but no big deal out of everything. That‟s how
we‟ve got to work with our young people. Just say this is yours, this is your tūpuna.. Let‟s make it
look beautiful. And to get them, have a working bee”.
The dreams are many and include the restoration of flora and fauna, historical educational
activities such as the restoration of the Ngāti Ranginui pa site, perhaps the creation of a cultural
centre that includes activities such as kapa haka and carving:
“The first thing is to keep it in its
natural state. The second thing is we
would like to develop activities around
Mauao that reflect our culture, related
to our culture. Some of the suggestions
are have a cultural information centre
so that the history of Mauao can be told
to people who walk around Mauao. We
still want to encourage passive
recreation. What iwi can do in order to
augment that is to provide the cultural
history of it. We would also, if there are
going to be a continuation of the
camping ground and the swimming pool
maybe that income should come
managed purely to be put back to the
enhancement and the sustainable
management of Mauao and managed by
the tangata whenua for those purposes. There‟s are a lot more, I believe that can be done in
terms of restoring the vegetation of the flora around Mauao…..It is important that our values be
maintained but it can be done, it can be managed I believe. So it‟ll illustrate to people that we
did live there. And it will illustrate to people that it is important to us (Brian Dickson).
Looking up at Mauao from the ocean-ward side.
Source: Williams, L. ( 2009).
Thanks to the hard work and determination over the years of our Koroua and Kuia and many
others much has already been achieved in terms of Mauo’s return and the restoration of mana
to both Mauao and local iwi. The full return of Mauao will be another important step along this
27

path. I leave you with the words of Ngāi Te Rangi, Kuia Ngaroimata Cavill which perhaps
speak to the realization of this vision:
Kei te kite atu ahau i tetahi taha oku ;
E tu mai ana me te mohio ano e pai ana tana tu
I see a part of me over there – but I know he is safe where he stands
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Appendix A
Beginnings
This small scale research project arose from my desire to get to know my Ngāi Te Rangi, roots
better. Since 2003 I had been intermittently meeting with kuia Maria Ngatai as one means of
doing this. At her suggestion along with my family I also attended the whanau reunion for the
descendants of Ruawahine Puhi and John Lees Faulkner in 2004. This was a watershed for me,
as it was the beginning of my realization that I was part of a much larger Ngāi Te Rangi,
whanau. At the beginning of 2009, I decided to devote some time to getting to know the Ngāi Te
Rangi, part of myself in 2009. Given that one of my areas of interest is human ecology, I decided
to draft up a small scale research project that might contribute towards a human ecology book I
was editing at the time as well as providing me with a structured way in which to learn more
about my Ngāi Te Rangi, roots. The project, I decided would centre around the elders’
perspectives on who Ngāi Te Rangi, is as a community (incorporating the dimensions of land,
ancestors and the world of spirit), might inform the field of human ecology, which has
traditionally come from a very Eurocentric and mechanistic philosophical base.
Recruitment of participants and refinement of research questions
However the project began to take on a new shape once I had arrived in Tauranga; in
conversation with Aunty Maria one day she suggested that as part of getting to know who I
was and who Ngāi Te Rangi, is, I needed to know who Mauao is. Quite synchronistically,
around the same time, I also learned from Paora Stanely, Ngāi Te Rangi, Runanga office, of a
project being under taken by Tommy Wilson to publish a book about Mauao as a way of
communicating with local Tauranga iwi and other groups, of the significance of this wonderful
maunga. It became clear during the course of our conversations that each project might enhance
the other, if I was to focus my research ‚who is Ngāi Te Rangi,‛ around mauao.
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I subsequently re-drafted the participant questions, and with the help of Maria Ngatai and the
rununga office was introduced to Kuia Ngaroimata Cavill and Rangatira Kihi Ngatai and Mr
Brian Dixon, C.E.O. Ngāi Te Rangi, Rununga Office. Between one and two semi-structured
interviews (approximately 2 hours in length each) were undertaken with each participant,
excluding Kihi Ngatai. With uncle Kihi I sat in conversation around the dinning room table at
their home and took verbatim notes as he answered the questions I had about my own
whakapapa, Ngai TuKairangi and Ngāi Te Rangi, history more generally.
The individual interviews with the other three participants were audio-taped. Hand written
notes were taken at the time of the interviews. A hired transcriber who had signed a
confidentiality agreement undertook the transcribing of the audio-tapes did all of the
transcribing. All individual interview transcriptions were sent to participants for validation and
comment and the necessary corrections made as I went over the transcriptions with each
participant.
A general inductive approach 29 (Thomas, 2000a) was used with the analysis of the data. The
common purpose of this approach is to ‚allow key findings to emerge from the common,
dominant or significant themes inherent in raw data, without the restraints imposed in
structured methodologies‛ (p.3). All transcripts were read through for the purpose of
generating key themes and sub-categories within these. These key themes (and my
interpretation of them) were also in part derived from publications pertaining to Mauao, Māori
Tikanga, cosmology and sources documenting tribal history within the Tauranga City Library,
in addition to my own lived experience of Mauao 30 .
29
Thomas, D. (2000). Qualitative Data Analysis using a General Inductive Approach. Health Research Methods
Advisory Service. University of Auckland: Auckland.
30
During the 3 months that I spent in Tauranga, I spent much time just getting to know Mauao by walking his
slopes and getting a sense of his surrounds, including particular areas and land marks regarded as wahi tapu. So
powerful is this sensory experience of Mauao that he is very near most of the time, even as I currently spend half
my year living in the Canadian City of Toronto.
30

Throughout the data presentation I make it clear if my own interpretations differ from those of
the participants. Some of the direct quotes of participants have been altered for the purposes of
inserting missing words, making grammatical sense or clarifying meaning. This has been done
in cases where the meaning was clear from the context, but not necessarily from the quote.
Missing words that have been inserted are encased in square brackets [ ]. In cases where
explanations are inserted into quotes the following brackets are used { }. Double and single
apostrophes are used to identify direct and indirect quotes respectively. In cases where indirect
quotes are used, these have been taken directly from my field notes, indicated by the bracketed
references to these.
31